Photographers are especially intrigued by the Microsoft Surface line of computers, which offer a full-fledged operating system coupled with touchscreen input. Of course, that's all for naught if the devices don't have good longevity, which Consumer Reports now says is the case, with one in four devices expected to fail within two years.
The news came out that Consumer Reports removed its "recommendation" badge from four Microsoft Surface laptops after noting that the devices had a statistically significantly worse "predicted reliability" rate than competitors (25 percent). This rate was determined from results of a reader survey and defined failure as any event that interrupts the owner's ability to use the device as expected. There are some things to keep in mind, though:
- The survey covered a little over 90,000 respondents, but included 9 separate brands, and the publication did not provide a breakdown of that data.
- The survey did not include 2017 models. Nonetheless, Consumer Reports did say they would not give their recommendation for these models. The four models for which the designation was actually pulled were the 128 GB and 256 GB Surface Laptop and 128 GB and 512 GB Surface Book.
Microsoft did comment that they disagreed with the findings and stood by the product line's reliability, also saying their own statistics showed the Surface's longevity to be in line with competitor's products. Nonetheless, it's an important piece of information to keep in mind if you're considering purchasing a Surface product.
The main problem with the newest surface pro is that you can't repair it. Everything is glued together and it is impossible to disassemble without destroying half the apparatus. It is incredible but it is even harder to repair than a Macbook pro
You've never been able to repair or upgrade the Surface line. You buy the spec you need and then go from there. Same as many other manufacturers these days. That's the price of such small devices.
The only thing I have noticed on my Surface Pro 3 - and I witnessed this in a Microsoft store with another customer- is the start button seems to occasionally not start the unit. You press and hold and... nothing the black screen of death.
Is there an in depth analysis of the breakage anywhere?
This looks like the problem is on the Laptop and the Old Surface Book rather than the very popular Surface Pro 3&4 series too.
Fake News on the Surface Pro line (???) which is what sells like crazy.
I have a Surface 3 (not pro) and although it's great when it works, it does have issues, especially with app windows un-maximizing themselves. I think it's an issue with using bluetooth mice. The biggest problem is with Windows 10 always downloading updates in the background. When you don't use it that often, every time you do use it it becomes really sluggish. Going to load the Windows 10 Creators update and see what happens.
Good!!! I've had to replace my surface pro i7 three times now since I got it!! I am now running all business work on my 2012 Mac pro because it's more reliable............
Purchased their flagship 2017 Surface Pro model. Used it for a couple of weeks and it became very clear, very quickly, that it wouldn't last long. I returned it and purchased the MacBook Pro.
The pen lagged in Photoshop, but more importantly, 50% of the battery would disappear after a minor amount of post processing in Photoshop.
I think it'll be a viable contender after another five years of development. But not at the moment.